Garcross Frequently Asked Questions about laser cutting processes

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What is laser cutting & how does it work?		Why do you use nitrogen assist gas?
What equipment and capabilities do you have?		Are there any dimensional limitations with the laser cutting process?
What types of materials can you process?		What thicknesses can you cut through?
What profiles can you process?		Do you offer an in-house design or prototyping service?
What types of file formats will your CNC equipment accept?		What is a press brake?
What types of welding do you offer?		What are your lead times?
Do you hold quality accreditation?		Do you offer powder coated finishes?
Who will manage my project?		Do you hold stock for clients?

What is laser cutting & how does it work?

Laser cutting is the most accurate method for cutting materials delivering extremely precise part production and high process stability. Intricate shapes may be cut from either metal sheet, plate and many other materials without the need for investment in tooling.

Laser cutting is also generally regarded as a 'low distortion' process, compared with other thermal cutting options.

The focused laser beam heats the material surface and a very local melt capillary is quickly established throughout the depth of the material. The diameter of this capillary is usually just slightly greater than the diameter of the focused laser beam. Laser cutting is performed using an assist gas. The significant feature of gas assisted laser cutting is that the molten material is ejected from the base of the capillary by a jet of gas coaxial with the laser beam. For some materials this gas can further assist the process by chemical (exothermic) reaction as well as physical work. The cut is generated by either moving the focused laser beam across the surface of the stationary material or by keeping the laser beam stationary and moving the workpiece.
A polished, oxide free edge finish can be achieved on stainless steel using a nitrogen assist gas.

Why do you use nitrogen assist gas?

Nitrogen assist laser cutting leaves an oxide free finish on both mild and stainless steel. Unlike oxygen assist cutting nitrogen produces a receptive surface for subsequent painting or coating with no problems of rusting.
Using nitrogen assist cutting is a more expensive process but there are as indicated significant benefits.

What equipment and capabilities do you have?

Garcross has a wide range of equipment/capabilities including;

Laser cutting
Bending
Rolling
Fabrication
Powder coating
Prototyping & design

Are there any dimensional limitations with the laser cutting process?

There are no dimensional limitations to the laser cutting process

What types of materials can you process?

Garcross can process a wide range of materials including;

Mild steel
Stainless steel
Aluminium
Brass
MDF, plywood and laminates
Perspex (acrylic) and other plastics
... and many other materials

What thicknesses can you cut through?
Mild steel up to 20 mm
Stainless steel up to 15mm
Aluminium up to 10 mm
Brass up to3mm
MDF and plywood up to 25 mm
Perspex (acrylic) and other plastics up to 30mm

What profiles can you process?

Any materials with a flat profile

Do you offer an in-house design or prototyping service?

We offer a full in-house design service using the very latest on-site CAD technology.

We are able to design and work directly from your drawings, files, hard-copy or sample components.

Our flexible systems for part development, nesting and layouts guarantees that waste is minimised whilst ensuring the highest levels of speed and accuracy.

A wide range of machinery allows us to economically produce rapid prototypes for you to test prior to series production … and we'll happily assist you to develop and improve your products.

What types of file formats will your CNC equipment accept?

We can design for you or work from your CAD/CAM drawings, hard copy or sample components. We accept .DXF, .DWG, .IGES & .PDF format drawings as e-mail attachments via our broadband Internet connection.

What is a press brake?

A CNC pressbrakes is able to produce highly complex and multi-folded and prefabricated parts.

The pressure reference bending technology it utilises fulfils the highest demands for the production of sheet metal parts for a wide variety of applications in both light and heavy gauge sheet metal.

What types of welding do you offer?

Mig welding for mild steel
Tig welding for non ferrous metals
Full aluminium welding by special process

What are your lead times?

24 hour lead times on flat profile laser cutting jobs
On fabrication work times will be agreed with client against the requirements of the project.

Do you hold quality accreditation?

Yes

UKAS BSEN ISO 9001:2000 Reg No 059-A

Inspection - All finished goods are carefully inspected to ensure that tolerances are correct and specifications met prior to packing.

Do you offer powder coated finishes?

Yes, we offer a wide range of specialist powder painted and metal finishing for all our products.

A wide range of metals including aluminium, stainless and mild steel can be pre-treated and coated including complex fabrications.

Dry powder coating is used to achieve an ultra smooth surface finish.

Who will manage my project?

Each job is managed by a dedicated project manager who oversees the job from design through to the final finish of your product.

Do you hold stock for clients?

Yes we hold both raw material and finished component stock for clients.

…we will even hold clients own purchased raw material on-site